Release
by julamei
Summary: Drabble: Katara heals both herself and Zuko. Sequel to Exhaustion with a little more ZK.


standard disclaimers apply: not my characters, i just love them. my (hopefully original) plot though!

yeah, this is another one of the imaginary scenes constantly replaying in my head. hopefully writing it down will let it leave me alone. enjoy.

'''

The icy wind stings Katara's cheeks and out from under her fur-lined hood, loose strands of hair float like ribbon riding in a stream. But she smiles because the smell of the cold reminds her of home. She has never known that cold has a smell until she left the South Pole. She sits on Appa, flying under the stars, as her and her friends travel to travel to her sister-tribe in the North. She encounters that chilling, white taste of the frigid temperature of the air, only to be shocked by an overwhelming home-sickness.

She breathes it in with relish.

The waning crescent of the moon makes her think Yue is smiling upon them as they return to her tribe and Katara prays a silent, heartfelt _thank-you_ to her sister. Indeed, they have much to be grateful for in regards to Yue. Katara suspects she was only able to revive Aang with the oasis water because the moon had been full and Yue had lent her power. It was no small task to call back the spirit of the Avatar to the living.

They are returning to the oasis in the North Pole once more, this time for healing. Katara lets her eyes roam over the full contents of Appa's saddle: herself, sitting on the outer edge of the saddle and staring at the sky; Toph – unconsciously, of course, but nevertheless amusingly – using Sokka's stomach as a pillow; Sokka lying flat on his back and snoring, an arm – again, unconsciously, of course – protectively resting on Toph's shoulder; Zuko has found an empty spot in the saddle and has curled up effectively enough so he isn't touching anyone, a seemingly impossible feat. Aang is bundled up similarly, though he sleeps in his customary post in the thick, shielding fur of Appa's neck.

Yes, they are worn from the fighting and deserve to be healed. Each of them has become what they should never been asked to: warriors. They are children and yet they have more intensive war experience than Earth Kingdom veterans. They are able to distinguish life – the involved, candid, emotional experience – from death – the detached, mechanical, physical destruction of a soul. They have seen and done too much to be called naïve, as all children are.

Katara wishes they could be whole, that somehow they could find innocence and hope again, and be happy. But she does not wish it never happened.

A warm hand on Katara's knee awakens her from her musing and she opens her eyes to meet Zuko's gold gaze. She notices the pinks and purples swirling low in the eastern horizon behind him and sees the sun peaking over the distant blue depths. She offers a small smile and puts her hand over his.

Threading his fingers through hers, he jerks his head and she glances in the suggested direction. Apparently, they have all but arrived at their destination while she had been lost in thought; the tall, proud gates of the Northern Water Tribe are only a few miles away with their ornate designs just barely visible. She is a wonderful, aware watchman. However, in the past, the war had kept her alert; she only demonstrates, in her careless, unconscious unwinding, its absence.

A whirlwind of greetings, announcements, congratulations, and assurances later, Katara treads on the soft grass in the oasis with Zuko following a short distance behind. Aang, Sokka, and Toph have been given rooms wherein they could rest; the sacred water could do little for their pain. No one questioned Katara when she had declared she and Zuko "would be back later."

Her steps are slowed by the mystical, holy presence of the area that washes through her, though she cannot refuse the call of the water. Kneeling at the edge, she sighs with her whole being as her fingers dangle over the surface of the water and Zuko stoops down next to her.

"It's all over, Zuko," she whispers with a smile playing at the corner of her mouth and without looking at him. She feels the heat of Zuko's eyes and turns to him, her hand shimmering in a watery seal. Her smile grows at the look in Zuko's face; she knows he believes he stares down redemption when he looks at her, but with proof of her healing power, he's lost in awe.

He grabs her wrist, anchoring himself as she steadily raises her hand to his face. A cool caress, a face scrunched in concentration, two worried, intent eyes, and a few breaths – or lack there of – until Katara slumps heavily back against her feet, the water gone.

Katara watches the trembling of Zuko's fingers as they rise to touch his unblemished face. Then she is lost in a warm, intense, affectionate embrace. She laughs and returns the gesture, each holding tightly onto the other. She hears Zuko's labored breathing and feels a slight pressure against her chest and she knows it's not the healing water that sunk into his skin and erased his scars. Tears form in her eyes as well.

An honest, gruff, poignant _"__Thank you__"_ is muffled into her clothes and her arms echo the resulting squeeze. They lay back together now against the grass, consumed with the feeling of releasing the troubled, painful past.

His hands grasping her elbows, Zuko suddenly pulls back. Katara looks up at him questioningly, but when his fingers begin to drift up her arms, ghosting over her own scars, she remembers and doesn't need to look into his face to know his eyes are questioning her. She sits up and removes her outer robe and navy leggings. She catches Zuko's blush and smirks, even though they both know he's seen her numerous times in her white, not-at-all-revealing underclothes. But that does not hide the fact they both know she's only wearing underclothes.

Careful not to disturb the koi fish, she dips gently into the cool water of the oasis. She sits down and submerges her shoulders as Zuko moves protectively closer. She tenses, the water glowing an iridescent, light blue around her collar, shoulders, and upper arms until, after several moments, she releases her breath in a soft sigh and becomes limp. Zuko reaches quickly into the water to pull her out before she drowns in her own element.

She notices two things as she returns to consciousness: her upper body is very, very sore and her upper body is very, very hot. When her eyelashes flutter open, she catches an unguarded expression of fondness in Zuko's amber eyes. She blushes when she realizes she's cradled in his lap and feels, more clearly, his arm resting across her stomach and his other hand tangled in her wet hair. She relaxes-_warm._

She finds herself once more smiling up at him and this time he mirrors the wide, goofy grin before he leans down to kiss her, his hands moving to clutch the soft, smooth flesh of her shoulders. With lips responding enthusiastically against the pressure of his, Katara returns the kiss and buries one hand in his hair, the other caressing the length of his back. He breaks away to trail searing kisses down her throat, gently wiping away strands of hair as he progresses, and she whimpers, her body moving against his. As he reverently kisses her shoulder, she whispers close to his hear, "It's all over, Zuko," and dips her head to meet his lips again.

'''

i have katara refer to yue as her 'sister' because i figure katara could call the (young, at least) members of her tribe 'brother' and 'sister' because it seems like a tribe-like thing to do. yes, yue's from a different tribe, but they're sister-tribes, so i let it apply. if you don't agree, i could take it out.

hope you liked it.

[review?]


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